On December 22, Aster officially announced:
Launch a total of $12 million perpetual contract trading incentive plan,
Divided into 6 phases, with weekly rewards distributed every 7 days,
Advance in sync with the airdrop plan Stage 5: Crystal.
Many people only focus on the 'bonus',
But what really matters is how it is distributed, to whom, and under what conditions.
First, clarify the mechanism: this is not 'mindless money throwing'
⏱ Event Time
2025.12.22 08:00 ～ 2026.02.02 07:59 (UTC+8)
A total of 6 stages
7 days per stage
💰 Prize Pool Structure (Single Stage)
Base: 1 million USDF
Unlock 1:
Platform weekly perpetual trading volume ≥ 100 billion dollars
→ 1.5 million USDF
Unlock 2:
Platform weekly perpetual trading volume ≥ 150 billion dollars
→ 2 million USDF (full amount)
Summary in one sentence:
Not 'I will give you how much money',
But rather 'the bigger the plate you all make, the more money I will release'.
Two, why say this is 'exchanging money for depth', rather than acquiring new users?
Pay attention to several key limiting conditions:
① Must trade [perpetual contracts]
No rewards for spot trading
No rewards for passive behavior
👉 The goal is very clear: perpetual market depth + activity.
② Must [hold ASTER]
Bind the reward threshold with the platform's native assets
Forcing the formation of a 'trading + holding' closed loop
👉 This is not short-term benefits,
But rather locking in the asset relationships of participants.
③ The prize pool is strongly bound to [total platform trading volume]
What you do personally may not necessarily get the full amount
But everyone rolls together, the prize pool will grow larger
👉 This will naturally guide:
Top traders + market-making strategies + high-frequency accounts collectively enter the market
Three, what is the biggest difference from ordinary 'contract competitions'?
Many old tricks of contract platforms are:
Fixed prize pool
Compete for personal ranking
A few people eat meat, while most people accompany the run
And Aster's design is essentially:
Collective gaming + platform-level KPI unlocking
This brings three direct effects:
1️⃣ The platform has the motivation to increase real trading volume
2️⃣ Users have the motivation to participate long-term for 6 weeks, not just 3 days
3️⃣ The growth of the prize pool itself becomes marketing material
Four, why synchronize with airdrop Stage 5: Crystal?
This is a very key signal.
This shows that Aster is not putting:
Airdrop
Trading incentives
Platform growth
Do it separately, but rather compress it into the same time window.
What does this mean?
👉 The current trading behavior may be recorded for future 'identity and weight'.
In the current Web3 ecosystem,
More and more projects are no longer looking at:
How many times have you traded
But rather look at:
At critical stages, did you participate in 'core behaviors'
Five, who is this round of activities suitable for? Who is it not suitable for?
✅ Suitable people
Contract users with mature trading systems
Can run steadily without pursuing an all-in approach
Originally needed a 'platform that can subsidize costs'
For these types of people:
Rewards are 'reducing trading friction',
And not tempt you to make trades you shouldn't make.
❌ Not suitable people
Want to place a couple of low-frequency orders casually
Do not understand the risks of perpetual contracts
Those who treat rewards as 'capital preservation returns'
Under this structure,
The speed of loss must be faster than the speed of rewards.
Six, from the platform's perspective, what does this step mean?
To say a very realistic thing:
What Aster currently wants is not 'the number of users',
But rather 'trading behavior that can hold up the order book'.
Only in:
Perpetual trading volume must be large enough
No collapse for 6 consecutive weeks
Depth and liquidity stability
Subsequent matters are meaningful:
Larger-scale airdrop
Higher-level market exposure
Stronger pricing power
The last sentence, let me give you an 'Old Stone-style judgment' 💬
12 million dollars is not a benefit,
The platform is publicly asking a question:
'Who is willing to help me truly develop this market?'
If you are already doing contracts,
This is an opportunity to subsidize your costs;
If you are not,
Then it's not an invitation,
But rather remind —
This table,
Not prepared for beginners.
Understand the rules,
Then decide whether to join the table $ASTER
